Five songs designed to cause moshpits
When people go to watch live gigs, they do so with different intentions. A lot of people like to go, stand near the bar and take in the music; then you have others who stand in the crowd but are slightly removed, soaking up the atmosphere but still complacent in their own space, and finally, you have the nutters near the front. These are the people with battle jackets adorned with patches for Motörhead, AC/DC and Iron Maiden, and these are the people who want nothing more than to be in the band’s face and form moshpits.
The ancient art of moshing is something that the modern rocker holds very close to their heart. It’s not just moving sporadically to music; it’s connective, something that binds with the people inside that room at that very moment and that forms the basis of a gig. The people they mosh with aren’t enemies; they aren’t trying to hurt one another; quite the contrary, they’re family.
Some songs are much easier to mosh to than others. Some songs were made for the pit, be it because of a specific riff, pause in a track or a dominating outro. Regardless of why people like to mosh to the track, there is something embedded within it that means the moment it starts playing, it’s time for dancing shoes to come off and moshpit boots to go on.
While there are many tracks perfect for the mosh pit, these five seem to have been specifically written to get crowds opening circles and collapsing them all within minutes.
The perfect moshpit songs:
Arctic Monkeys – ‘When The Sun Goes Down’
Arctic Monkeys’ debut album was rammed full of classics, but one of the standouts, especially during live shows, was ‘When The Sun Goes Down’. When the song starts, you would be forgiven for thinking it might not be the perfect track for a moshpit, as it’s just Alex Turner and his guitar, singing about a lady of the night.
It’s after the first verse that the moshing starts. Apparently aware of the impact of the song, when playing the song live, Turner is a big fan of taking a huge pause before saying the iconic lines which start a riot. The crowd cheers, the sea of faces opens up, and all it takes is the utterance of “Said he’s a scumbag, don’t you know,” to bring them all together.
Peace – ‘1998’
While Peace is still touring, there was a period in the 2010s when the band seemed unstoppable. The release of their debut EP was a real statement of intent and one of its biggest tracks was the epic ‘1998’, which was ten minutes long. It was a bold move for the band to release such an elongated track on their debut, but it quickly became a fan favourite.
There were a number of reasons why people loved the song so much, but it was the big drop, around four minutes in, that really got listeners’ hearts racing. Peace wasted no time establishing themselves as one of the best live bands out there, as the drop halfway through ‘1998’ is one of the best out there.
Amyl & The Sniffers – ‘Chewing Gum’
Amyl & The Sniffers have become synonymous with the art of moshing ever since they started releasing music. The question isn’t whether their songs are good to mosh to, the question is: which one do you choose? ‘Chewing Gum’ is a love song about throwing caution to the wind and enjoying your life. It might not feel like the obvious choice, but hear me out.
The thing that makes this song the perfect one for the live experience is that the ideal opportunity to mosh doesn’t come until the very end of the track. It’s not like you’re thrown into the mix from the word go; instead, you enjoy the whole track, and then at the end of the song, when the shredding guitar solo kicks in, you can let your hair down and lose control.
Limp Bizkit – ‘Break Stuff’
Let me tell you from first-hand experience there are no five words in the history of human endeavour that act as more of a call to arms than Fred Durst’s “Break your fucking face tonight”. Limp Bizkit have never been far from controversy due to how raucous their songs are, to the extent that they were blamed largely for the disaster that was Woodstock 1999. Out of all the band’s discography, no song seems to get a crowd going more than ‘Break Stuff’.
Everything about the song is designed for moshpits. As soon as the opening two chords are played, the crowd’s ears prick and circles begin to form. The song’s theme accompanies heavy moshing beautifully, persistently discussing the benefits of unleashing anger and giving in to the need to… well… break stuff.
Kasabian – ‘Fire’
Does anything need to be said about this song? Through various lineups, different creative directions, and highs and lows, ‘Fire’ has remained the perfect live song for which many fans wait for entire gigs.
The song is a ride from start to finish. With the epic chorus that some of the brave try to hold a note for and the hammering guitars, this track demands movement. There are very few tracks that are so certain to go down well, whether you’re the real band or a poor cover version. If you play ‘Fire’, people are going to be moshing.
